Supreme Court to hear arguments over Medicaid payments

At issue is whether California and other financially challenged states have the leeway to reduce Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals and other medical providers.

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Supreme Court To Decide If California Can Cut Payments To Medi-Cal Providers
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether to give California and other cash-strapped states more freedom to cut the amounts they pay doctors, hospitals and other providers of medical care for the poor (Savage and Goldmacher, 1/19).

McClatchy: Supreme Court Takes On States' Plans To Cut Medicaid Payments
The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review California's controversial proposals to cut Medicaid reimbursements to physicians, dentists, pharmacies, health clinics and other medical providers. The court's decision to hear three combined California legal challenges is good news for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who wants to enact budget cuts similar to those that courts have previously struck down. Potentially, hundreds of millions of dollars in proposed savings are at stake (Doyle, 1/18).

KQED: High Court Considering California Drug Price Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday in a California case over drug prices. At issue is a question over whether clinics that serve low-income patients are being overcharged by pharmaceutical companies (Varney, 1/18).

Modern Healthcare: High Court To Hear Challenges To Medicaid Cuts
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on three consolidated California cases that challenge Medicaid provider payment cuts. The high court said it would hear one-hour oral arguments on the three cases, most likely in the fall. In all three cases, providers sued the California Department of Health Care Services to halt planned rate cuts that state officials said were necessary amid a severe budget crisis (Vesely, 1/18).